An amendment offered by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas,
in the House of Representatives yesterday that would have remove from an
appropriations bill a new mandatory mental-health screening program for
America's children failed by a vote of 95-315.

Paul's amendment would have removed the program from the Labor, HHS and
Education Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2005. Ninety-four Republicans
and one Democrat sided with Paul, while 118 Republicans, 196 Democrats and
one Independent voted against the amendment.

As
WorldNetDaily reported, the New Freedom Initiative recommends
screening not only for children but eventually for every American. The
initiative came out of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, which
President Bush established in 2002.

Critics of the plan say it is a thinly veiled attempt by drug companies
to provide a wider market for high-priced antidepressants and
antipsychotic medication, and puts government in areas of Americans' lives
where it does not belong.

"The real payoff for the drug companies is the forced drugging of
children that will result – as we learned tragically with Ritalin – even
when parents refuse."

The congressman, who is known for his strict adherence to the
Constitution, wrote in a letter to his colleagues before the vote: "As you
know, psychotropic drugs are increasingly prescribed for children who show
nothing more than children's typical rambunctious behavior. Many children
have suffered harmful effects from these drugs. Yet some parents have even
been charged with child abuse for refusing to drug their children. The
federal government should not promote national mental-health screening
programs that will force the use of these psychotropic drugs such as
Ritalin."

The New Freedom Commission found that "despite their prevalence, mental
disorders often go undiagnosed" and recommended comprehensive
mental-health screening for "consumers of all ages," including preschool
children.

The commission said, "Each year, young children are expelled from
preschools and childcare facilities for severely disruptive behaviors and
emotional disorders."

Schools, the panel concluded, are in a "key position" to screen the 52
million students and 6 million adults who work at the schools.